Just a short post for the moment about equipment and heading out on photo excursions. We have all been there, you have a great idea for a photo story or a series to shoot for commercial use or to just work on skill development and practice our art... so gather up the rig, pick out the glass we think we'll use, and out the door we go! I know... Let's go shoot light trails long exposures...10 Mile drive... Check out a cool location...Haul everything up a few flights of stairs...Pick the body and the glass out of the bag...Setup the tripod...Mount the ca...uh oh...Mount the cam...Oh no...Mount the camera already...Nope! Minor little oversight! Who was responsible for that little $8 quick connect plate? AM I RESPONSIBLE FOR REMEMBERING THAT LITTLE THING OR WAS IT ME THAT'S RESPONSIBLE?!?!?!?
And so my night began...a few days prior, I had been using my Super-telephoto that sports it's own tripod mounting collar to balance the load on the tripod...and that mounting collar, is where the quick connect remained...and...oh yeah...that super-tele? Yeah...That wasn't glass I chose to bring along that particular night!!!!!
So...there I am...10 minutes walk to the car, 1/2 of my gear ready to start shooting...and alas...the process is over before it began...all over an $8.00 piece of plastic...
So remember...when you go out on an excursion, planning isn't always necessary, because lets face it, "impromptu", "in the moment", and "I think I'll go try..." are often the creative process behind some of our best work...but if you're like me and "It just popped in my head" drives a lot of your shooting...INVEST in the simple things that help keep you on track.
Today's fed-ex arrival...a 2nd quick connect for my tripod head...because, you know...long exposures at 1:00 AM on Pacific Coast Highway can get a little complicated when you can't mount the camera on a tripod!!!
Gill T.
Capture Moments...Capture Life...Capture CHAOS!!!